DOE Selects Potential Breakthrough Approaches For Removing Greenhouse Gases from Ecosystem

From Super Algae to Deep Ocean Carbon Disposal

Washington, DC - The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected an initial group of research projects to pursue a goal that could ultimately determine the long-range future of global fossil fuel use -- the inexpensive capture and permanent disposal of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. These cutting-edge research projects range from the use of carbon dioxide absorbing algae to deep-ocean greenhouse gas disposal.

Secretary of Energy Federico Peña today announced grants to 12 research teams that will begin exploring whether practical, affordable methods can be developed to prevent carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases from building up in the atmosphere.

"Such processes could be the revolutionary breakthroughs that break the link between the world's use of fossil fuels and concerns over global climate change," said Peña. "We are beginning the first steps today, but if the path leads to realistic technologies, it may become much easier for the United States and other nations to implement effective greenhouse gas reduction strategies."

The selected projects include a diverse mix of novel concepts, including the use of CO2-absorbing algae growing on artificial reefs or encased in bioscrubbers; the disposal of greenhouse gases in deep aquifers or on the ocean floor; and innovative chemical processes and membranes that separate CO2 from the flue gases of fossil fuel power plants and factories. Each project will receive approximately $50,000 for the initial phase. Projects that proceed into later development phases could receive up to $1.5 million each.

Secretary Peña kicked off the new effort last September in a speech at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh where he called on the nation's scientific and technical community to "look beyond what is currently feasible" and develop breakthrough concepts for sequestering or recycling greenhouse gases. Sixty-two proposals responded to the challenge and 12 were selected.

In the President's FY 1999 budget proposal, DOE has recommended expanding carbon sequestration research efforts with activities focusing on both the science of carbon management, and the application of innovative techniques for removing and permanently storing carbon gases.

Following are brief descriptions of the projects.

• Louisiana State University,Baton Rouge, LA
  Lead researcher: Dr. Charles E. Graham, (504) 388-3386

  Project: "PH-Neutral Concrete for Attached Microalgae and Enhanced Carbon Dioxide Fixation" - Louisiana State University will study the capture of CO2 by microalgae supported on artificial reefs. These reefs would be manufactured with cement products especially tailored for microalgae attachment. The novel aspect is the use of supercritical CO2 to neutralize the alkaline cement mixture. After this treatment, the cement has a near neutral pH, which allows immediate attachment of pH-sensitive marine microalgae to the artificial reef. Attached microalgae and algae beds on reefs are 20 times more efficient for CO2 fixation compared to algae in the open ocean when considered on an area basis. A portion of the carbon in the biomass produced will be permanently sequestered in the deep-ocean.

• McDermott Technologies, Inc., Alliance, OH
  Lead researcher: Mr. Ray L. Posey, (303) 829-7422

  Project: "Large-Scale CO2 Transportation and Deep Ocean Sequestration" - McDermott Technology Inc., in collaboration with the Hawaii National Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii, will study the viability of large-scale CO2 transportation and deep ocean storage. Phase I activities include a technical and preliminary economic feasibility study of a large-scale CO2 transportation and disposal system, focused on extending the application of pipe-laying technology well beyond the current depth limit of 1300 meters. Emphasis will be placed on injection at depths of 3000 meters or more to avoid adverse environmental impacts. Two options will be examined for transporting and disposing the captured CO2. In one case, CO2 will be pumped from a land-based collection center through a long pipeline laying on the ocean floor. Another case will consider oceanic tanker transport of liquid CO2 to an offshore floating platform on a barge for vertical injection to the ocean floor. Future work will focus on the analytical and experimental simulations of liquid CO2 dissolution and dispersion, laboratory-scale corrosion testing, and further conceptual and engineering evaluation of transportation and disposal options.

• Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC
  Lead Researcher: Dr. Ashok Damle, (919) 541-6146

  Project: "Recovery of Carbon Dioxide in Advanced Fossil Processes Using a Membrane Reactor" - Research Triangle Institute will develop an inorganic, palladium-based membrane device that reforms hydrocarbon fuels to mixtures of hydrogen and CO2 and, at the same time, separates the high-value hydrogen. The remaining gas, predominantly CO2, is recovered in a compressed form. The hydrogen could be used in future fuel cell systems or advanced turbine power systems. Pure hydrogen, when burned to generate power, produces water vapor as the only product of combustion. The proposed work will be conducted in three phases. Phase I will demonstrate the electroless plating techniquefor depositing palladium on a ceramic substrate and will develop a membrane reactor module. Phase II will involve reforming reaction and hydrogen separation experiments in the bench scale test facility. Phase II will demonstrate the technology at the proof-of-concept scale.

• Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
  Lead Researcher: Ms. Anita Quinn, (906) 487-2225

  Project: "Low Cost Bioscrubber for Greenhouse Gas Control" - Michigan Technological University proposes a novel, algae growing bioscrubber that could be retrofitted to existing power plants or applied to new power plants. By optimizing the photosynthetic conditions for the algae in the scrubber, algae can grow rapidly, consuming CO2 and, perhaps, other greenhouse gases. Mature algae will be harvested and processed to produce value-added products and energy. Using a plant that generates 100 megawatts of electricity each hour, researchers estimate that about 800 million kilowatt hours of electricity can be generated annually from the biomass produced in a bioscrubber.

• University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center, Grand Forks, ND
  Lead Researcher: Mr. Edwin Olson, (701) 777-4278

  Project: "Novel Systems for Sequestering and Utilizing CO2" - The Energy and Environmental Research Center of the University of North Dakota will develop new chemistry and catalysts to convert CO2 to useful polymers in industrial quantities. Polymers having different properties will be synthesized for specific end uses. For example, water soluble polymers with high viscosities could be produced for enhanced oil recovery projects, while others could be developed for use in strong structural resins or ion-exchange materials. The proposal envisions novel, solar-powered photoreactors that use sunlight for converting CO2 to simple alcohols for subsequent polymer synthesis.

• Northwest Fuel Development, Inc., Lake Oswego, OR
  Lead Researcher: Dr. Peet M. Soot, (503) 699-9836

  Project: "Sequential Carbon Dioxide Removal from Stack Gases and Sequestration Using Coal Seams" - Northwest Fuel Development, Inc. (NW Fuel) will develop a unique system for removing and sequestering CO2 by injecting power plant flue gas into abandoned coal mines and using the residual coal in the mines to filter out and retain the carbon dioxide. Reducing the pressure in the undeground mines would release the concentrated carbon dioxide, allowing it to be compressed and injected into underlying deep unmineable coal seams. Most of the coal-fired power plants in the U.S. are located in or near coal basins, which could be suitable for this type of processing. This multi-phased effort will be conducted at the Nelms Mine site in Harrison County, Ohio. The initial portion of the effort will consist of a technical and economic feasibility analysis of the process. Laboratory and bench scale tests will take place in Phase II, and a field demonstration unit will be built and operated at the Nelms Mine during Phase III.

• The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
  Lead Researcher: Ms. Yvonne Murray, (512) 471-2338

  Project: "Optimal Geological Environments for Carbon Dioxide Disposal in Saline Aquifers in the U.S." - Saline aquifers have great potential for the long-term sequestration of greenhouse gas emissions including CO2. This study will help fill the information gap between studies using idealized aquifers and the often poorly known properties of real aquifers. This effort will develop a data base of saline aquifers in the U.S. where geological conditions promote the greatest probability of success of CO2 sequestration projects. Standard techniques for hydrocarbon exploration and development such as reservoir characterization and geological formation analysis will be used to make these predictions.

• Battelle, Columbus, OH
  Lead Researcher: Dr. Neeraj Gupta, (614) 424-3820

  Project: "Experimental Evaluation of Chemical Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide in Deep Aquifer Media" - The disposal mechanism to be studied in this project involves deep-well injection of supercritical phase CO2 in aquifers that are deeper than 800m and have no known economic resources. Battelle will conduct basic research on aquifer processes. Researchers will perform a series of laboratory experiments to determine the chemical processes controlling the fate of injected CO2 in different aquifer settings. The major focus will be on the potential resources for disposal in the Midwest United States in a region with one of the highest CO2 emission rates in the nation.

• Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Allentown, PA
  Lead Researcher: Dr. Madhukar B. Rao, (610) 481-8282

  Project: "CO2 Capture from Industrial Process Gases by High-Temperature Pressure Swing Adsorption" - Air Products and Chemicals Inc. will develop a potential breakthrough, low-cost technology to capture CO2 from flue gases and other process gases. Specifically, the proposal focuses on further developing new water-tolerant, high-temperature sorbent materials and combining them with novel process concepts. Air Products will develop process cycles for the temperature and pressure ranges of interest to recover CO2 from targeted industries. Air Products then proposes to demonstrate the technology at a selected commercial site.

• Tampa Electric Company, Tampa, FL
  Lead Researcher: Mr. Charles R. Black, (813) 228-4111

  Project: "The Removal and Recovery of Carbon Dioxide from Syngas and Acid Gas Streams in an IGCC Power Plant for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gases" - Tampa Electric's Polk Power Station, built as part of the joint government-industry Clean Coal Technology Program, is a state-of-the-art 250 MW(e) Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant. IGCC power technology provides an ideal opportunity for CO2 capture when oxygen rather than air is used. Coal-derived gas is produced in a highly-concentrated, pressurized form that allows for the use of a variety of solvents that can capture CO2 from the gas stream prior to combustion. Engineering studies will be performed to evaluate the technical and economic merits of alternative systems that could be demonstrated at the Polk Power Station. In Phase III and beyond, the selected recovery system would be built and operated at the plant.

• TDA Research, Inc., Wheat Ridge, CO
  Lead Researcher: Mr. John D. Wright, (303) 422-7819

  Project: "A Novel CO2 Separation System" - TDA Research, Inc., proposes a "Sorbent Energy Transfer System" in which the fossil fuel (gasified coal or natural gas) transfers its energy to reduce a metal oxide, producing steam and high-pressure CO2 that can be sequestered with little additional compression energy. The steam would be used to drive a steam turbine to produce electricity. The metal is then reoxidized in air, producing heat to raise the temperature of a high-pressure stream of air or nitrogen to drive a gas turbine to generate more electricity. The oxidized metal is sent to the reducing vessel to repeat the cycle.

• Institute for Environmental Management, Inc. (IEM), Palo Alto, CA-
  Lead Researcher: Mr. Don Augenstein, (650) 856-2850

  Project: "Landfill Operation for Carbon Sequestration and Maximum Methane Emission Control" - Working at the Yolo County Central Landfill outside Davis, CA, the Institute for Environmental Management, Inc., will study a way to accelerate the production of methane from landfills and capture the methane using surface membrane covers. Methane is a strong greenhouse gas with approximately 20 times as much greenhouse effect as CO2. The project, to be conducted cooperatively with Yolo County and the California Energy Commission, will involve two demonstration cells at the landfill, each containing approximately 9000 tons of waste. Techniques will be applied to promote decay of the landfill waste to provide more rapid and complete methane generation. A gas-impermeable membrane will be used as a cover over the landfill to prevent the methane from escaping into the atmosphere. Gas-permeable layers in the cover will conduct the methane to a collection point.

- End of Techline -

For additional information, contact:
Robert C. Porter, (202) 586-6503 e-mail: robert.porter@hq.doe.gov